As the snow starts to fall and Currie Municipal Golf Course ends its season, it's struggling to keep its finances out of the red.

The city-owned course didn't make money in the 2003-2004 fiscal year ending in June, and as it moves into the final half of the 2004-05 budget, things aren't looking much brighter. Weather in the upcoming spring will be the deciding factor.

"Spring of '04 killed us," McGuire said. "Barring a repeat of that spring, I think we're going to be in pretty good shape."

On four different occasions, the nearby Tittabawassee River crept over its banks, and water spread across the course making it impossible to play.

"If we have four more floods like we did this year, then we're in pretty bad shape," McGuire said.

Typically May is the strongest month at the course. It's not too hot, not too cold, and leagues are beginning their seasons. But last May, a full 18 days of playing time were ruined by water, and players on remaining days were limited to walking. Some were deterred because carts couldn't be driven on the soggy course. The loss of green and of golfers meant $60,000 less in revenue.

Officials had expected this would be the year the course would begin recovering from a two-year construction project that included the cost of maintaining all 36 holes while only 27 were in play. Completion, plus a $100,000 budget-saver that came from negotiations with maintenance crews would have offered a boost, had it not been for flooding.

The Currie Cafe, inside the new $1.2 million Currie West clubhouse, also has been struggling, though there are plans for increased marketing and the possible addition of a liquor license.

"At this point it's a cost center rather than a revenue stream," McGuire said. "We're evaluating the value of that." The clubhouse already lost one caterer because the service wasn't making any money and her successor also operated at a loss last year.

The idea of adding a liquor license to help the cafe become self-sustaining has been an ongoing topic of discussion, and could move forward in the future, McGuire said.

"There's still a lot of discussion. We're looking at various options and ways it might be carried out," he said. "There are risks in terms of insurance costs, license costs. That's what's making it a more detailed process."

Options include bringing in a vendor that would take on potential liabilities, making the City of Midland the license holder, or forming a separate entity to carry the responsibilities.

"For each new option there appears to be a constraint," McGuire said. "The bottom line is - there has to be a cost benefit."

The idea could go to the City Council for review in the upcoming year, he said, though research is still under way and speculation premature.

"We're going to let it play out. We're looking at what is in the best interest of the City," he said.